I'm thinking of getting a therapy dog but I don't know where to start...

The Service and Therapy Dog forum is for all service and therapy dogs regardless of whether or not their status is legally defined by federal or state law, how they are trained, or whether or not they are "certified." Posts questioning or disputing a person's need for a service or therapy dog, the validity of a person's service or therapy dog, or the dog's ability to do the work of a service or therapy dog are not permitted in this forum. Please keep discussions fun, friendly, and helpful at all times.

Member Since 12/23/2012

Barked: Tue Dec 25, '12 5:32am PST

I am hoping to get a rescue dog and then train it to be a therapy/comfort dog. I have ADD and have panic attacks when in school and in certain social interactions. I was also wondering that if the dog was trained to detect low blood sugar would I have to certify them as a service dog? I live in Ontario but I would really like a pit bull are the laws still the same even if they are a therapy dog? I really need help figuring out how to go about this any help would be great!

It sounds like what you're talking about is either a service dog or an emotional support animal. Here's what the difference is.

A therapy dog is a dog that has really good social skills that you would take to visit people for therapeutic purposes, like kids in a hospital or residents in a nursing home.

A service dog is a dog owned by someone that is disabled that is trained to perform tasks that mitigate the owner's disability.

An emotional support animal is a pet that provides emotional support (comfort) to the owner.

Are you in Canada? I'm not as clear about the laws there. In the US, if you want to be able to take a dog everywhere you go, it must be a service dog. To take a therapy dog or emotional support animal places that pets aren't usually allowed, you have to get permission from the business owner.

In the US, there is no certification required for service dogs. There is no official organization that certifies service dogs.

Many dogs don't have the right temperament to become service dogs. Unless you have a lot of experience training dogs, it's pretty hard to train a service dog yourself. It would be easier to get one from a program that trains service dogs.

Not sure if you mean service dog or therapy, but this is the link for the Accessibility for Ontarians with Disabilities Act where it defines a Service Animal in Ontario:
http://www.e-laws.gov.on.ca/html/source/regs/english/2007/elaws_sr c_regs_r07429_e.htm#BK3

And here is the link for the Pitt Bull laws for Ontario (there doesn't appear to be exceptions for service dogs):
http://www.attorneygeneral.jus.gov.on.ca/english/about/pubs/ dola-pubsfty/dola-pubsfty.asp#TOC_03

Ok I think that I would be looking at a service dog not a therapy dog thanks for the clear up I don't think that I am "disabled" legally (as it is considered to be a mental illness) do I have to have any kind of papers to apply for a service dog or to certify a dog? I am working with a experienced dog trainer and I have re-trained both of our current dogs, who both had severe agression ( one was territorial, and the other is dog/animal agressive and is agressive with males). I know that the training for a SD is very intense and you have to be very through but would there be a way for me to train my own? Is there a class or course of some type? I would much rather save an animal than go out and buy one that is already garenteed a home...

I'm not sure about the laws in Canada. In the US, mental illness is considered a disability. In the US, under the Americans with Disabilities Act, you are considered disabled and qualify for a service dog if your disability has a significant impact on one or more major areas of life functioning, like seeing, hearing, thinking, walking, communicating, etc. But in Canada it may be different.

Do you have a lot of experience training dogs? If not, it would be really hard to train your own service dog. It usually takes about 18 months of pretty intensive training by professional, experienced trainers to train a service dog.

The program I got my service dog from uses rescue dogs, but in most cases, you'd have better luck with a dog from a breeder that breeds for the characteristics that make a good service dog. I understand wanting to give a dog in need a good home, and that's one of the reasons I went with the program I did. I liked the idea of having a rescue dog. But the problem is that most dogs do not have the right temperament to be service dogs. If you try to pick out a dog yourself, there's a really good chance it won't have the right temperament. Professionals with experience training service dogs are much better at selecting candidates but even they are wrong sometimes. And since rescue dogs often have some sort of trauma in their history, they are less likely to be suitable for the job.

Someone told me, and I can see how this would be the case, that if you want a service dog for anxiety or some other mental illness, it's even harder to train the dog yourself because the trainer needs to be really calm and centered when teaching the dog how to deal with stressful circumstances.

I would recommened your local SPCA animal shelter I see a lot on line too form shelter that are kill shelter. I think a dog form one of those would make you and the dog a better match both of you a good deal. I wanted to get one form a shelter but cause of sercomstance was not able to.
Good luck. I hope you find some thing that is special for a life time.